Alain Lamassoure, former French minister for European affairs

Christophe Robeet speaks to Alain Lamassoure, an influential MEP who currently chairs the European Parliament’s Committee on Budgets. Lamassoure says 2012 has been a decisive year for the EU and urges François Hollande to show more leadership in dealing with the eurozone crisis. He calls France’s fiscal policies irresponsible and defends French actor Gérard Depardieu’s decision to take up Belgian citizenship.

A graduate of Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University, he was a journalist in New York for ten years before joining FRANCE 24 in 2009. He is specialised in French politics, Africa and the Middle East.

MELISSA BELLInternational Correspondent

Working both on FRANCE24’s French and English-speaking channels, she covers international news stories from the field and in the studio. She also regularly anchors for both channels.

DOUGLAS HERBERTInternational Affairs Editor

This native New Yorker joined FRANCE 24 at its launch in 2006, lured by a lifelong love of French language and literature. He began his journalism career in the early 1990s in Russia and is now a foreign affairs commentator.

ANNETTE YOUNGPresenter

Originally from Australia, she is a senior journalist and presenter who has reported from Europe, Asia and the Middle East. When not fronting the network’s new show on women’s issues, she is a news anchor and an international affairs commentator.

ARMEN GEORGIANForeign Affairs Analyst

Since he joined FRANCE 24 in 2006, he has reported on major political stories from Berlin, Moscow and New York. He has an interest in the ex-Soviet sphere and has filed feature stories from that area.